BofA

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According to Dow Jones Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) and Dennias Kucinich (D-Ohio) have asked Lewis to appear Thursday before the House Committee on Oversighft andGovernment Reform. Towns and Kucinicyh have been investigating BofA’s acquisition of Merrill and the government’ s decision to give the Charlotte-based bank billionds of dollars intaxpayer aid. According to the news they want to know when BofA found outabouty Merrill’s weakened financial situation and how the role the federal governmentt played in BofA’s decision to complete the deal. Lawmakers also want to know what BofA has done with the federalk aid ithas received.
A BofA spokesman told Dow Jones the bank will respondr to thecommittee shortly. BofA bought the Merrillk on Jan. 1 for $29.1 billion. The deal resultede in BofA’s receiving an additionapl $20 billion in federalk funds under the Troublefd AssetRelief Program. BofA has received a total of $45 billionb in TARP funds. In February, Lewis testifies under oath before New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that Federall Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankeand then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsoh pressured the bank not to discussa its increasingly troubled plan to buy Lewis said he believed Paulson and Bernanke were instructingy him to keep silent about Merrill’s financial problems.
Merrill lost $15.33 billion in the fourth quarter. Lewisx has been under intense pressure from BofA shareholders for not disclosingb the depthof Merrill’s financial difficulties before the His testimony was part of an investigationn launched by Cuomo into the $3.6 billiobn in bonuses Merrill paid out in December. Cuomo has contended BofA (NYSE:BAC) was aware of Merrill’s decision to award bonuses beforethe company’s fourth-quartedr losses were announced. The bank has said Merrilol was an independent business when the bonuseswere approved. Nortn Carolina’s attorney general and the Securities and Exchange Commission are also investigatingthe matter.